It’s time to make a confession.  I have been a  James Bond fan forever.  Ever since I was a young lad ordering books from the University of Manitoba Extension Library and one day received a novel by Ian Fleming called Dr. No as a substitute for a book I had ordered,  I was hooked. The Library sent books for free from the University to us poor urchins in the cultural hinterland in places like Steinbach without a library.  If the book one ordered was not available they sent something they thought the reader might like instead. I had never heard of James Bond or Ian Fleming. He was not yet a world wide phenomenon. But the library sent me Dr. No.

I have no idea what book I ordered but I received Dr. No and I was transported into young boys Fantasy land. I found a spy who was licenced to kill. I still remember the opening scene.  3 blind black men in Jamaica walking in line and opening fire on an unsuspecting hapless victim. They were not blind at all. They were assassins. It seems absurd now.  It was absurd, but it was unlike anything I had ever read before. This was exciting stuff!

Amazingly, perhaps, I have been a fan ever since.  When they started making movies out of the Bond books, I loved them too. Guns, girls, and mayhem. What’s not to like.

Of course, the films make no sense. They aren’t meant to make sense. The books didn’t either. Except to young boys and girls living a fantastic dream. Of course, even some heavy intellectuals like Bond.  Peter Bradshaw the long-time Guardian film critic, said movie was “ridiculously watchable.” No matter how absurd it is, my love of Bond endures. Forget about logic.

As a result, it comes as no surprised that I liked the latest Bond film, “No Time to Die.”  They are no longer based on books. They ran out of books decades ago. No matter. I have been a fan of those too. I have come to appreciate the films ever more since Danial Craig took over the role of Bond. Apparently, this is Danial Criag’s  last film as Bond. What a pity.

What happens next? Who knows?